Bullies also at risk of eating disorders
Bullying harms not only the bullied child, but the perpetrators as well. Researchers from the Duke University found that bullies are also at risk of eating disorders such as eating and purging.
In a study of 1,420 children, those who bullied others were twice as likely to display symptoms of bulimia, such as bingeing and purging, when compared to children who are not involved in bullying. The findings are published in the December issue of International Journal of Eating Disorders.
“For a long time, there’s been this story about bullies that they’re a little more hale and hearty,” said lead author William Copeland, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. “Maybe they’re good at manipulating social situations or getting out of trouble, but in this one area it seems that’s not the case at all. Maybe teasing others may sensitize them to their own body image issues, or afterward, they have regret for their actions that results in these symptoms like binge eating followed by purging or excess exercise.”
Children who were victims of bullying were at nearly twice the risk of displaying symptoms of anorexia (11.2% prevalence compared to 5.6% of children who were not involved in bullying) and bulimia (27.9% prevalence compared to 17.6% of children not involved in bullying).
Children who were both bullies and victims had the highest prevalence of anorexia symptoms (22.8% compared to 5.6% of the children not involved in bullying) and also the highest prevalence of binge eating (4.8% of children as compared to less than 1% of uninvolved children) and vomiting as a way to maintain their weight.
But the impact of bullying behavior on those who were bullies was also significant, with 30.8% of bullies having symptoms of bulimia compared to 17.6% of children not involved in bullying.
All of these behaviors can have devastating effects on the long-term health of children, said Cynthia M. Bulik, Ph.D., a distinguished professor of eating disorders at the UNC School of Medicine and a co-author on the findings.
